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What if you fire a shot with the bolt half closed?

YBPS

Silver $$ Contributor
I had an issue today with an explosion in the chamber resulting in a damaged bolt and some ringing ears. It was very loud….even with the suppressor that makes this whisper quiet.

The gun smith told me he would guess there was a barrel obstruction, but I know there was not. I had just shot it 5 minutes before. He scoped the barrel and it’s fine, but my bolt needs work and may need to be replaced.

It’s REM 700 and what I think happened is the bolt was not shut all the way. I looked my neighbors rem 700 and I was extremely surprised how you could still drop the firing pin with the bolt only half closed.

The extractor, broke, and it blew the primer. I didn’t even find a pice of it.

The bullet hit basically perfect on paper at 100 but it was about 150 FPS slower than my 3400 average.

I have shoot 350+ handloaded rounds with this load. Curreny shooting 49 grains and have shot up ro 51.3 with zero issues. Gun shoots so good I want it to last to I’m back at 49grns 3400 fps rather than 3650 with 50-51 grains.

Case is a 22-243AI with 75ELDM

So… let’s just say I didn’t get the bolt closed all the way… not because the round wouldn’t chamber, but I’m just so used to an easy bolt drop I just messed up. Does this sound like what could have happend? Anyone experience this?
 
Problem with the load not the rifle…….
Iv shot this load +350 times and had zero issues and have shot it ALOT hotter. I really just don’t feel like the load was the issue. But if the bolt question is not possible, I guess it could be. Iv just loaded thousands of rounds and I have a process and never had any problems.
 
A few people have claimed to have an “out of battery” firing…. I don’t believe anyone has proved it though, most have been people screwing with their triggers etc.
the only way I can see it happening is if your firing pin breaks in half and the spring drives the front half forward into the primer at exactly the wrong moment……
 
Does this sound like what could have happend? Anyone experience this?
Do you have another undamaged Rem 700? Would be easy enough to check with primed brass (not loaded!).

For one period of my life when I always carried a round in the chamber of my rifle while hunting, I would partially open the bolt to put the rifle in a "safe" condition. Don't really trust the safety much on a Walker trigger. Was deer hunting and was by some other hunters. I partially opened the bolt to make my rifle safe (not claiming that this really works). A deer walked out. I took a rest, and pulled the trigger. The release of the firing pin simple completed closing the bolt and absorbing all the energy while keeping the firing pin from reaching the primer with any energy to fire it. Never partially opened a bolt since then, I now just remove the round from the chamber.

If you shoot handguns much, and if you ever don't fully seat your primers, you know the first strike by the firing pin just fully seats the primer and fails to set it off. Now that the primer is fully seated, just strike it again and it will go off.

I'm from MO, the show me state. I only have 1 data point, but that one says that wasn't the case of your problem. I would be interested in running your load through GRT/QL and see what kind of pressure your load is operating at.

I am certainly not saying I don't believe you. I just know what I experienced. And that is why I suggested you check it out on another rifle with just a primer.
 
Do you have another undamaged Rem 700? Would be easy enough to check with primed brass (not loaded!).

For one period of my life when I always carried a round in the chamber of my rifle while hunting, I would partially open the bolt to put the rifle in a "safe" condition. Don't really trust the safety much on a Walker trigger. Was deer hunting and was by some other hunters. I partially opened the bolt to make my rifle safe (not claiming that this really works). A deer walked out. I took a rest, and pulled the trigger. The release of the firing pin simple completed closing the bolt and absorbing all the energy while keeping the firing pin from reaching the primer with any energy to fire it. Never partially opened a bolt since then, I now just remove the round from the chamber.

If you shoot handguns much, and if you ever don't fully seat your primers, you know the first strike by the firing pin just fully seats the primer and fails to set it off. Now that the primer is fully seated, just strike it again and it will go off.

I'm from MO, the show me state. I only have 1 data point, but that one says that wasn't the case of your problem. I would be interested in running your load through GRT/QL and see what kind of pressure your load is operating at.

I am certainly not saying I don't believe you. I just know what I experienced. And that is why I suggested you check it out on another rifle with just a primer.
My load is 49 grains of H-1000 22-243 AI with 75grain ELDM. Please share!
 
This happened to me once many years ago - Rem 700, .243 AI. Faulty primer blew and took the extractor out. Didn't hurt the bolt other than having to replace the extractor.
 
Have you ever measured the water capacity of the case, and COAL? And you have seen 3650 fps with the 51 grain load, right? I'll run it tomorrow and share what I get.
 
I had an issue today with an explosion in the chamber resulting in a damaged bolt and some ringing ears. It was very loud….even with the suppressor that makes this whisper quiet.

The gun smith told me he would guess there was a barrel obstruction, but I know there was not. I had just shot it 5 minutes before. He scoped the barrel and it’s fine, but my bolt needs work and may need to be replaced.

It’s REM 700 and what I think happened is the bolt was not shut all the way. I looked my neighbors rem 700 and I was extremely surprised how you could still drop the firing pin with the bolt only half closed.

The extractor, broke, and it blew the primer. I didn’t even find a pice of it.

The bullet hit basically perfect on paper at 100 but it was about 150 FPS slower than my 3400 average.

I have shoot 350+ handloaded rounds with this load. Curreny shooting 49 grains and have shot up ro 51.3 with zero issues. Gun shoots so good I want it to last to I’m back at 49grns 3400 fps rather than 3650 with 50-51 grains.

Case is a 22-243AI with 75ELDM

So… let’s just say I didn’t get the bolt closed all the way… not because the round wouldn’t chamber, but I’m just so used to an easy bolt drop I just messed up. Does this sound like what could have happend? Anyone experience this?
what vintage 700? is it an early one, or one modified (having a tired moment...) so the silver colored piece is not exposed, as the early ones were?
 
Have you ever measured the water capacity of the case, and COAL? And you have seen 3650 fps with the 51 grain load, right? I'll run it tomorrow and share what I get.
I have not measured the water, but have shot up to 3650 with 51 grains and some change. 26” 1:8 barrel. The lead in the chamber is long and the bullet is set so the BT is right at the neck/shoulder junction
 
Could be a few things. How do you weigh your charges?
Heavier bullet snuck in the box?
Odd case with thicker walls/less internal capacity?
Bullet pushed deeper in the case from lack of neck tension?
Not thoroughly cleaning your powder hopper after loading pistol rounds?
 
Out of battery detonations do happen. I have seen one example of this happening and know of another. I have one of the rifles in my possession. One a 30-378 Wby. The gentleman really screwed up his hand when the bolt came to the rear. The bolt handle went through the webbing between his thumb and hand.
The setup. He is known to shoot very HOT loads. After examination it was determined the firing pin had NOT touched the primer. So how did it detonate? The case head had 6, count'em 6 ejector pin marks on it. I'm sure the primer pocket was used up and then some being Norma brass. Primers appear benign but really they aren't. My theory and it's only a theory is somewhere between the loading bench and the range the primer had backed out of the primer pocket. Allowing powder to get between the primer and the bottom of the primer pocket. When he ham handed it, trying to force the bolt closed the primer was reseated and the anvil was pushed back into the priming compound. CAAABOOOM. Or the few grains of powder detonated from compression.

The other rifle I didn't see but when it requires a new bolt stop and a trip to the ER something similar probably happened.

Now in this case I think there was something screwy going on with the load.

YBSP,
Just for the hell of it run your finger down the outside of the barrel. If there was an obstruction, even on HV contour barrels, you'll be able to feel the bulge. The ones I've seen still shot surprising fine.
 

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